Manchuria is a large region in northeastern China extending over today's provinces of Heilongjiang , Jilin, and Liaoning . It is named after the Altaic ethnic group of the Manchus who formed the majority of the population until the massive influx of Han Chinese since the early 20th century. The designation "Manzhou" first appeared in Chinese records in 1613, but it describes the totality of the various Altaic peoples living in the region rather than one homogeneous ethnicity.

In 916, the Khitan (Qidan) people founded the Liao dynasty, and in 926 they conquered the Bohai E…